


Leading the Blind

by ScientificCorgi



Category: The Ultimate Sidemen
Genre: (sorry), :/, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blind!Simon, Blood, Blow Jobs, Cute, Fluff, Hospitals, Idk what to tag this as tbh, Josh is such a g, M/M, Quite the emotional rollercoaster, Smut, minizerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:59:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 19,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7697590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScientificCorgi/pseuds/ScientificCorgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>17 year old Simon is going to a boarding school, but there's one problem - he's blind. Josh is chosen as his guide and things can only escalate from there.<br/>I'm bad at summaries, this is basically the gist of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

> I have not planned any chapters for this, I have no idea how many I will write. So it's kind of like an improvised piece of writing. I'll update when I can - probably not daily though.  
> Since I enjoyed writing Dying to Survive, I decided to write another one.  
> Here's the first chapter, enjoy. :)

“Simon, it’s time you got your ass out of bed and into the car!” She yelled up the stairs to a very startled Simon who had just finished getting into his new school uniform. “Simon!”

“I’m coming, Pauline.” Simon shouted back, putting his hands out and slowly guiding himself out the bedroom door. His body bumped into something – or rather, someone – as he was just about to go blindly down the stairs.

“Hey Si, do you need help getting down?”

“Yes please.”

Annabelle smiled and walked down one stair, holding onto Simon’s frail arms, guiding him down one step at a time.

It took them a minute, but as soon as Simon steadily reached the bottom, he breathed out heavily. Annabelle retracted her hands off of the blond then whispered a goodbye to him.

“Thanks, Annabelle.”

“Simon, you’re late, we need to go,” Pauline, Simon’s strangely happy care-worker, led him by the hand out of the front door and off of the wooden porch. “I’ve packed everything you have into two suitcases and put them in the boot of the car.”

“Thank you.” 

Simon stumbled over his feet several times on the way to the dark blue Volkswagon Polo at the front of the care-home. Pauline opened the door for him and Simon sat down on the seat. The brunette slammed the car door then walked around to the driver’s side and seated herself in front of the driving wheel. She started the engine and drove onto the main road while putting her seatbelt on.

“You seem nervous, Simon.”

“Yeah.” Simon mumbled, his fingers intertwining with each of the bony fingers on his sweaty hands.

“Don’t be, you’ll fit in just fine. Don’t worry about finding your way around, I’ve checked with the headmaster and they will have a guide to help you around.”

The nervous 17 year old smiled slightly, his heart rate slowing down.

“If you’re tired, just try to sleep the rest of the journey. I’ll wake you in an hour.”

\---

When Simon was awoken from his extended slumber, he felt the sun glaring down on him and a hand on his left shoulder, shaking him gently.

“Simon, we’re here,” Pauline unstrapped the timid boy and grabbed his hand, assisting him up from the car. A handle was pressed into his right hand. “Drag this suitcase behind you, I’ve got the other one.”

The blond gripped the handle and placed one foot in front of the other, Pauline leading him to the headmaster’s office.

After a minute, they arrived in front of the headmaster’s door, and Pauline leant the suitcase against her black tights. She knocked three times on the door before being invited in. Simon followed afterwards, stepping into the seemingly warmer room.

“Ah, you must be Simon Minter,” A deep voice cut through the warm atmosphere. “I’m Dr Sherwood, the headmaster of Prince William’s Boarding School. I understand that you are here because your mother here wants you to have a better education-“

“Actually, I’m his care-worker. His parents died when he was two. Someone anonymous funded this.”

The headmaster’s eyes widened.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Anyway,” He stood up from the desk and knelt in front of Simon. “Joshua here will be your guide for the next year and a half.”

“Hi,” A voice to the right of Simon said. A hand landed on Simon’s shoulder. “I’m Josh-“

“You can introduce yourself in a minute, I just need Simon’s care-worker to sign some papers.”

Pauline let go of Simon’s hand then walked forward towards the desk. The blond heard some paper rustling and a pen being placed on the desk.

“Hey, I’m Josh,” The voice said again, gently turning Simon to face him by his shoulder. “I’m apparently your guide. Ask me anything, I’m always by your side or somewhere near.”

Simon’s face turned red in embarrassment. “Hi.”

“Okay, Joshua come here please. I’ll give you Simon’s timetable. It’s basically the same as yours since he’s taking the same subjects as you.”

“But I take PE, sir.”

“There’s more to PE than running around a pitch. He can do the theory work.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So Simon,” He heard Dr Sherwood push his chair away from the desk and the small gush of air confirmed that the man was standing in front of him. “Luckily you’ve joined us at the beginning of the Easter holidays. This means you have one week to settle in and then you’ll be taking your classes with Joshua. Now, Joshua, if you could show Simon to your dorm room and get him set up that would be fantastic. Oh yeah, and explain all of the rules and stuff I told you earlier.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Goodbye Simon! I hope you have a lovely time here and the other kids and I will miss you.” Pauline bent down and placed a goodbye kiss on Simon’s cheek. The door opened and she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

“Off you go, you two.” Simon and Josh were ushered out of Dr Sherwood’s office and stood in the corridor.

“So… how do I guide you around?” Josh stuttered, not entirely confident around this new boy.

“You can take my hand and I’ll follow you.” Simon held out his free hand, urging for Josh to grab it so he would feel safer. He did and they walked together around the corridor to the outside.

“Tell me about yourself.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me about yourself, Simon.” Josh said, wanting to get to know Simon more.

“Well, I’m blind.”

Josh giggled. “Yeah, I know that.”

“I was funded to come here.”

“I know that as well. I was in the room as well, bro.”

Simon was surprised at this new term; ‘bro’. “’Bro’?”

“Yeah?”

“No, no, why are you calling me ‘bro’?”

“Don’t you like it? I’ll stop-“

“I like it. I’ve never had someone call me bro before,” The blond laughed nervously. “What do… I look like?”

Josh gasped. “You don’t know?”

“No.” He muttered, his head tilting downwards.

“Well, you have blond hair, you’re a very light shade of pink apart from your cheeks which are kind of red…” Josh scanned around Simon’s face. “Your head is an oval-ish shape,” The guide pulled open the door to the boy’s dorms after placing the suitcase down. Josh and Simon walked in silence for a few seconds, then Josh came across his room; a small yet comfortable box with two single beds, two closets and plain blue wallpaper. “We’re here.”

“This is gonna sound weird but can I… feel your face?” Simon placed the suitcase he was dragging on the floor by the door.

Josh stood confused at Simon’s feet. He guided Simon over to his bed. “Um, sure?”

“I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

Josh placed his hands around Simon’s skinny wrists and placed his hands on his face then let go. Simon felt around for a minute before speaking again.

“You have a beard.”

The dark-brown haired boy laughed. “Yeah. I also have short dark-brown hair and hazel eyes.”

“That’s cute.” Simon mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Simon removed his hands from the other’s face and held them by his sides.


	2. ii

Josh pushed himself up from the bed. “I’m going to help you unpack.”

“What does the room look like?”

“There’s a door here,” The bearded boy led Simon over to where they came in. “In front of you is your bed – it’s plain and dark blue and a single – then there’s your closet next to it in the corner. Turn left and there’s a window to your right and my closet straight ahead against the wall and other corner. Turn left and there’s a desk against the back wall with a laptop on it. Next to the desk is my bed. That’s pretty much it.”

Simon stood silently for a minute, visualising the room inside his mind. Because he was blind since birth, Simon could visualise any room or anybody as long as it was described to him. With Josh’s description, the blind could visualise it easily. “Thank you. It’s pretty cosy.”

“Yeah, you get used to it eventually,” Josh ran a hand through his warm hair and reached for both of the blond’s suitcases. “If you just sit on your bed, I can place everything in the closet. Oh yeah, do you need help getting dressed or anything?”

“No, I can see the room in my mind because of your description. I’ve been blind since birth and I’ve gotten used to getting dressed.” Simon scratched his head and stepped slowly towards the bed until his knees came into contact with hard wood. He turned around and sat down, his hands stroking over the soft fabric.

“Okay,” Josh lifted the black suitcases onto his bed and began unpacking. “You don’t mind me going through your stuff, do you? Only, it’s very likely you have underwear.”

“They’re clean! Actually, they’ve only just been bought. I haven’t worn them yet.”

“Oh okay.” Josh laughed softly and began rifling through his suitcases. Both suitcases contained clothes – simple and plain t-shirts, jogging bottoms, boxer-briefs and a coat. There was also a spare uniform in the second suitcase.

“You haven’t told me much about yourself.” Simon stated, pushing himself up the bed to rest against the headboard.

“I’m 17, an only child and I have a girlfriend along with a few close friends,” Josh said, rattling off little aspects of himself. “My mum is in prison and my dad and aunt sent me here. They couldn’t cope on their own, my mum was a better parent than my dad-“

“So you have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Freya and I met her when I came here. She seemed nice and we were friends pretty quickly.” Josh walked over to Simon’s closet with a pile of clothes, then he opened the door and put the clothes on coat hangers or in the bottom drawers. “She’s really friendly but she can get a bit too clingy at times.”

“Cool.”

“Have you ever had a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?”

“I’ve never even had friends,” Simon laughed humourlessly. “The closest I’ve had to a friend is Pauline. She keeps saying the other kids at the care home like me but I know they don’t. They’ve told me.”

Josh raised his eyebrows. “Oh, well, I’m sure my friends will like you.”

“Who are your friends?”

“There’s Tobi, Brad and Jonathan. They’re all pretty chill. Tobi I’ve known the longest, since we came here together. His parents are friends with my dad. Brad is a bit more of a ladies-man, if you know what I mean. It’s rare that he hangs around with us as he’s always with his lady friends. Jonathan is very quiet, I think you’ll like him most.”

Simon fiddled with his fingers and faced towards the sound of Josh going through his closet. “When can we meet them?”

“In a minute, once I’ve finished this. They’re usually in the common room.” The bearded boy closed the closet door and walked back over to his bed. He zipped up the suitcases and carried them over to Simon’s bed then placed them underneath. “Done. We can go now.”

Simon scooted to the side of his bed and stood up, taking Josh’s hand in his right. The other led them both out of the door and down the corridor. They walked past a few more rooms, some doors open, some closed, and finally came across the boy’s common room. He pushed open the door and the talking flooded out of the room.

“Josh!” Firm footsteps clambered towards the pair. “Who’s this?”

“Hey Tobi, this is Simon,” Josh held the blond’s hand tighter. “He’s the new kid.”

“Ah, cool. Why are you holding his hand?” Tobi questioned, glancing at the conjoined hands.

“He’s blind and I’m his guide.”

“Oh, nice. Well, not nice that you’re blind but nice that Josh is your guide.” Tobi stumbled over his words. “You’ll like Josh, he’s friendly and-“

“Tobi, he knows.” The bearded teenager laughed. “Are Brad and Jonathan here?”

“Yeah, just a sec I’ll get them.” Tobi walked briskly away from the two.

“So that’s Tobi?” Simon enquired, moving his head around restlessly, not knowing where to ‘look’.

“Yeah. Told you he’s pretty chill.”

Tobi walked back over to Josh and Simon with two people trailing behind him. “Yo! This is Brad and Jonathan.”

“Hi!”

“Hey.”

 

Josh and Tobi laughed as Jonathan and Brad fought over who got to speak first. Jonathan stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Hi, I’m Jonathan.”

Josh nudged Simon. “Shake his hand.”

The nervous blond held out his left hand which was accompanied by a firm hand. They shook hands and Simon let go.

“Hi.”

“Tobi told us that you were here and some facts that he knows about you.” Jonathan smiled warmly at Simon which made Josh feel a whole lot better, knowing that two of his friends were accepting.

“Yeah, and I’m Brad.” Brad held out his hand for Simon to shake, and Simon sensed the hand and shook it.

“This is gonna sound weird, but can I touch your faces?”

The three boys stood confused, wondering why the blond would want to feel up their faces.

“It’s so he can visualise what you look like, don’t worry, he’s very gently.” Josh explained, making Simon smile in relief.

“Uh, sure. But can’t we just tell him what we look like?”

“Yeah, if you prefer.”

“Well, I’m black and usually wear a black snapback. I have brown eyes and a wide nose. I’m muscular-ish and I’m about 5”9.” Tobi described.

Jonathan stood beside Tobi. “I have light brown curly hair and blue eyes. I’m also pretty thin. Oh, and I’m guessing you know I’m American because of my accent.”

Simon nodded and listened patiently, his mind busy visualising what each person looked like.

“I’m a little bit chubby and I also have blue eyes and short brown hair. I’m also the headmaster’s son.”

Simon managed to figure out what each person looked like, and he put the visualisations aside to his memory bank. Luckily, Simon had a stronger memory than other people.  
“Nice, thank you.” The blond grinned gratefully and squeezed Josh’s hand which made the other smile slightly.

“Well, Brad and I need to go, we’ve got to practice our drama piece. We’ll see you guys later.” Jonathan and Brad exited the room, leaving the remaining three boys standing in a triangle.

“Actually, I better go as well. I need to meet up with Heather.” Tobi said as he backed away gingerly.

“Heather is Tobi’s friend, they usually go out into town during the holidays and weekends.”

Simon turned to Josh. “Your friends are pretty nice. I’m starting to think that I’ll like it here.”


	3. iii

_Monday after Easter Break_

“So, are you ready for your first day, Simon?” Josh asked, tying his blue and white striped tie around his collar, tucking it neatly under his buttoned up blazer.

Simon felt around his blazer pockets nervously. “Uh, I guess,” Simon rolled his shoulders. “What lessons do we have?”

“Well first we have maths then there’s English. After break is,” Josh took out his timetable and scanned across the blue laminated slip. “Geography. Then double PE after lunch.”

The blond breathed in through his nose deeply then exhaled trying to keep his heart rate even. The last schools he went to all rejected him because he was blind and the only school suited around assisting blind people like himself all rejected him because Simon could ‘see’ through touch. They said he wasn’t really blind despite all his protests.

Josh wandered over to where his tense friend stood and the brunet gently grasped the other’s tie and tightened it. “It’s only me.” He said, moving his hands down Simon’s form and started to button up the two buttons on his blazer. “You look really smart, you know.”

Redness lingered over Simon’s pale cheeks as Simon smiled. “Thank you, I’m sure you do as well.”

Josh grinned from ear to ear and roamed over to where his school bag was leaning against his desk. “I have your pencils and stuff in my bag so you don’t have to carry anything.” 

The bearded man returned to Simon’s side and grabbed his hand. He felt Simon squeeze his hand and they walked out of the door together, then wandered down the dorm’s hallway, eventually emerging at the exit. Josh pushed the door open and held it open for the both of them plus some students that were behind them.

“What are the teacher’s like?”

“Most of them. Mr Brown is probably the worst but he teaches RE which I don’t take.”

To Josh’s surprise, Simon began swinging their conjoined hands backwards and forwards. The shorter boy glanced over at the blond and he felt his lips curving into a smile.  
“Hey Josh!” A high-pitched female voice shouted making Simon tense slightly.

“It’s Freya,” Josh uttered, looking around for the voice. “Hey Frey.” He expressed. Josh suddenly realised that Freya and Simon have not met yet.

“Hello babe-“ The blonde stopped speaking, looking surprised at her boyfriend holding hands with someone she’s never seen before – and a boy? “Who’s this?” Her finger pointed towards the silent boy.

“Oh, this is Simon.”

“Why are you… holding _his_ hand?”

“I’m his guide, he’s blind.”

“Did you volunteer?”

“For what- no, I was chosen.”

“There are loads of single people in this school, why did they pick one of the only people who has a girlfriend?” Freya questioned.

Simon moved restlessly, holding Josh’s hand tighter. He didn’t like Josh’s girlfriend.

“Don’t do this, Frey.”

“Don’t do what? I’m your girlfriend, Josh, I care about you.”

Josh got increasingly agitated at his girlfriend’s attitude. She had never been like this before.

“Guys, stop,” Simon muttered, turning his head toward the paved ground. “Please. I don’t like hearing people fighting.”

“He’s right, Freya, this is getting silly.”

Freya stood, arms crossed over her chest. She knew this was a stupid argument, but she couldn’t stand seeing her boyfriend show more interest in people who were not her.

“We’re only friends, Freya. Plus, I’m straight. Now, can we not argue? We’re late enough as it is.”

“We’re discussing this at break.” Freya huffed. She turned and walked away briskly.

“Don’t worry about her, Si. She can get snobby if she sees me with someone else.” ‘Well, that’s a lie’ Josh thought, throwing his head back.

“It’s okay. Where’s the maths classroom?” The blond changed the subject in which Josh was very grateful.

“It’s on the ground floor of the tower block.” Josh had shown Simon around on the second day. (There's blueprints and extra info on Wattpad if you want to view them, @Basically-Sidemen. That's my Wattpad, every story is on there.)

It only took a few minutes to walk to the maths room since it was the first classroom they came to, along with cookery. Upon walking into the spacious room filled with tables, chairs and students, Josh let go of Simon’s hand and placed his hands on his shoulders instead.

“Joshua, you’re late again,” Ms Brady sighed, thin-framed glasses seated on the tip of her nose. “Oh, welcome! And you must be Simon.” Her brunette bob bounced as she walked to the boys.

“Hello miss.”

“I know about you, and I’ve been told that Joshua will help you write,” She lowered her voice, respecting the fact that Simon might not want it known that he’s blind. He didn’t like being in the centre of attention. “There are two seats here, call me over if you need me.” Ms Brady said calmly before making her way back towards her desk. “Keep working, class.”

Josh urged Simon forwards towards the two spare seats at the back of the room. Josh pulled out Simon’s seat and they both sat down in silence. Josh looked towards the white board and noticed that there were 30 or so questions plastered on the screen.

“I can write, it’s just my handwriting’s messy.” Simon breathed, placing his hands on top of the desk.

“I can do it, it’s fine. I’ll copy up the work back in the dorm after school.” Josh pulled out a notebook with ‘Maths’ written on the front and started to copy down the questions on the first page. This notebook was for Simon; Dr Sherwood gave Josh several notebooks for Simon when he was first called to his office.

“Why do I need to have written work? It’s not like I can see the work.” The blond’s sentence was tinged with humour and Josh thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t know.” He said, working out the answer to the third question.


	4. iv

“Class, I’ve put your homework up on the board. I would like it completed by Wednesday,” The English teacher, Mr Conner, stated. He paced up and down the classroom, glancing at Josh and Simon momentarily before continuing to walk the length of the room. Josh wrote the homework in his planner underneath the day’s date while Simon faced the desk, fingers tracing over the wooden surface.

“How long until break, Josh?” He enquired quietly, bringing his fingers to rest in his lap.

Josh looked at the clock on the wall. “Two minutes.”

“Where do you go at break? Like, where are you allowed to go?”

“Me, Tobi, Jonathan and sometimes Freya and Brad sit around this oak tree by the field.” The brunet replied, placing the pencil down on the desk and shifting his glance to Simon.

“How often does Freya hang around you?”

“Every now and then. We used to spend the weekends together but that’s rare now,” Josh sighed, resting his head in his hands. “She always hangs around her other friends-“

“Joshua, stop talking.”

“Sorry, sir.”

Mr Conner paced over to the boy’s shared desk. “Joshua, Simon, stay behind after class, I need to talk to you.”

They collectively groaned.

“Yes, sir,” Josh said as Mr Conner sauntered back to the front of the room. “For God’s sake.”

The bell rang and the students began to pack up their belongings, hurriedly shoving the class reading book, pencil cases and homework books in their plain backpacks. Josh did the same, except he and Simon stayed seated when the rest of the class stood behind their chairs.

“Okay class, you can leave.” The balding teacher announced. The class orderly filed out of the room and he came over.

“What did you want to see us for, sir?” Josh asked politely.

“Well, it’s more about Simon than you, Joshua,” The man squatted down in front of the table, elbows seated on the surface. “In fact you can wait by the door, I’ll call you over when Simon can leave.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll wait for you, Simon.” Josh grabbed his rucksack then walked to the open classroom door.

Mr Conner lowered his voice. “Simon, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in a… school that specifically caters for visually-impaired students?”

Simon blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. “I was kicked out of every school in my area because they thought I could see well enough.”

Mr Conner’s eyebrows furrowed. “Okay. You know what, instead of Joshua doing everything for you and putting even more stress on his life, maybe I could get a guide who isn’t a student-“

“No, no, it’s fine. I think Josh likes being my guide, sir.”

“Yes, but Simon…” He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up, leaning against the wall behind Simon. “He’s a student, he has work to do. He has exams this year, and so do you. It puts stress on him and on you, wouldn’t it be better if you had a personal carer that doesn’t have to worry about their own future?”

Simon quietly listened to the teacher’s speech. “Sir, I don’t need a ‘carer’. I can take care of myself, sir. It’s not like I’m a toddler who needs people to fuss over him all the time. I’m 17, I’ve been blind all my life and I know how to eat, dress myself and find my way around just as long as someone describes the route for me.”

Mr Conner sighed heavily. “Joshua, come in here please.”

As ordered, Josh entered, his gaze immediately flicking to Simon.

The balding man walked over to Josh who was stood in the centre of the room, holding on to one of the chairs. “Joshua, might I suggest getting Simon an actual guide who is trained and knows what to do with blind students? It’s clear that he will affect your grades and you have your final exams this year. He’s a burden to you, Joshua.”

“Sir, Simon’s not a burden. We’re coping fine, sir.”

“But, Joshua-“

“Sir! I apologise for being rude, but I can cope with helping Simon! I like helping Simon. He’s my friend and I would do anything he asks. He is not a burden and he never will be. I don’t care if I fail my exams, I just want him to pass. Me passing the exams would be an added bonus.”

Silence filled the room and a toxic atmosphere fell upon the three boys. No one spoke for minutes.

Simon cleared his throat. “Can we go now, Sir?”

With a sigh, Mr Conner agreed and the boys exited the room into the corridor. Josh and Simon walked quietly out of the double doors.

“Did you really mean that?” Simon enquired.

“What?”

“That you just want me to pass?”

Josh realised that he and Mr Conner were probably shouting by the end of the argument. “Yeah.”

Simon didn’t know what to say. He racked his brain for responses, and only one came to mind. “That’s sweet of you, Josh.”

The other’s cheeks were tinted slightly with pink. Josh’s face felt warm all of a sudden. “No problem, bro.”

“But you should pass as well. I don’t want you to fail because of me-“

“Simon, it’s not because of you. I know I’ve been slacking this year, even before you came. Don’t worry about me, only worry about yourself.” Insisted Josh, squeezing Simon’s hand for re-assurance.

Simon nodded, the surface under his feet beginning to change into grass.


	5. v

“Josh, how long is it until third period?”

“About ten minutes, Si,” He replied, walking with the other to the oak tree which was in sight. “We can leave in five if you need help with the stairs.”

The blond smiled to himself. “Yeah, sure.”

“Sorry about Mr Conner. He’s never been this much of a dick before.”

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Josh looked worriedly at the blond, his last sentence sticking to his mind like glue. ‘It’s okay, I’m used to it.’ “We’re nearly at the tree now, it’s just 40 or so paces.”

“Is there anyone there?” Simon questioned, his free hand coming up to itch his cheek.

Josh looked up from the grass and spotted three figures sat by the tree. They appeared to be arguing. ‘Fantastic.’ Thought Josh.

“Yeah, Jonathan and Tobi are there. I think they’re arguing with Freya.”

Simon stopped walking, fear written across his face.

“Are you okay?” After no response, Josh placed his frame in front of Simon’s and took his shoulders in his hands and added, “Simon, it’s okay, I’ll fend Freya away from you.”

Simon took a few deep breaths and hesitantly moved forward. Josh moved back to his side, gripping even tighter onto his hand.

When they reached the tree, Freya was sulking by the trunk, opposite to where Jonathan and Tobi were sitting. Josh made the decision to talk with Jonathan and Tobi first.

“I heard you arguing with Freya.”

Tobi fiddled with his fingers and looked up at the pair. “Yeah, she was bitching about you and Simon.”

The brunet shook his head then bit his bottom lip. Tobi motioned for him to come closer.

“You’ve gotta dump her, man.”

He acknowledged that Tobi was indeed correct, but Josh didn’t want to dump her because he loved Freya.

“I can’t, bro. What if she goes psycho on me?”

“Me and Jonathan will help you-“

“I’ll help too,” Simon added. “If-if you want.”

Josh looked thoughtfully at Simon, grateful at his offer to help.

“You can help if you want.” Josh replied.

“What’s the plan?” Jonathan tuned into the conversation, eager to help Josh get rid of Freya. Jonathan had always strongly despised her.

“At lunch, we’ll all approach her and… we’ll see how it goes from there.” Josh said, glancing from between Jonathan and Tobi. Both of them nodded.

“Me, Tobi and Simon could wait behind this tree and listen to how it’s going down. If you shout something, we will come up and help you.” The curly haired American suggested proudly.

The others agreed to Jonathan’s plan and they talked quietly about things that happened in the first two lessons, including the heated conversation between Josh, Simon and Mr Conner.

“What an asshole,” Jonathan commented. “Always knew there was something up with him.”

Josh suddenly realised that they had geography next which was on the third floor, and Simon had to get up there. “Simon, we need to go. See you guys here at lunch, don’t forget.”

Simon hummed then stood up, taking hold of Josh’s warm hand. “Where is geography again?”

“Third floor. We need to go up two flights of stairs.”

When the friends got to the first flight of stairs, Josh stopped.

“The stairs are in front of you.”

Simon held up his left leg and inched it forwards, feeling for the top of the stair. He found it and mentally made a note of the distance between the floor and first step. He used this knowledge to place his right foot on the second stair.

“There’s a bannister to your left, you can hold onto that on your way up.” 

Simon felt around for the bannister Josh had briefly described and gripped onto the wood tightly. Nervously, Josh followed suit, his arms hovering around Simon’s sides, but not touching him.

It took a while but Simon was nearly at the top of the stairs.

“This is the last stair, Simon.”

The blond placed his foot on the top of the final stair then pushed himself up. Both of the boys breathed a sigh of relief when Simon was sturdily stood at the top.

“Where’s the next staircase, Josh?”

“To the left at the end of the corridor,” The bearded one held onto Simon’s hand, guiding him to the next staircase. “Here. It’s the same as the one you just went up.”

Flawlessly, Simon reached the top of the staircases. He hadn’t stumbled once, and Josh felt a mix of emotions.

“Well done, Simon.”

The bell rang and the two walked briskly to the geography room. An hour later and they would have to tackle going down, which was undoubtedly more difficult.

-

The lunch bell rang and the class filed out into the hallway and down the stairs. Josh and Simon waited for the stairs to be void of people and began making their way down. Simon reached out for Josh’s touch halfway down the first set, and Josh immediately took his hand. Without thinking, Josh laced his fingers with Simon’s. The blond noticed this, but didn’t say a word.

The pair had reached the bottom floor in just over five minutes, which Josh thought was pretty impressive.

“Thank God we don’t have to go up any more stairs today.” Josh half-joked, guiding Simon out of the double doors. “Now we just need to consult Freya.”


	6. vi

Josh guided Simon through the freshly-mowed grass, the smell of the cut blades filling the atmosphere. Josh was nervous; even Simon could tell that. His hand was tense, his exhalations clearly audible and he was grinding his teeth together. Josh’s mind whirred at the possibilities of how his girlfriend of many seemingly loving years might react. She could slap him and leave him alone, yell at him or just flat out ignore him forever.

“When I asked about your girlfriend earlier, you said she was friendly.” Simon recalled.

“She… she was-“

“But I changed that?”

“No, no, no. It’s not your fault she acts like this,” Josh commented. “I guess seeing you holding my hand was the final straw for her. She knows I’m straight, she knows I would never be with a man. She also knows that I loved her and only her, but she can’t stop making fucking accusations.”

Simon’s heart broke. It hurt him to see his best friend so angry and un-Josh-like. That and the fact that Josh seemed so confident of his sexuality. Simon was confused; why would this bother him? Yes, he had mixed emotions about Josh, yes, his heart fluttered every time Josh held his hand, but that was just because Simon had been neglected from real love and care his whole life.

Wasn’t it?

The tree was now in sight, its old branches and greening leaves hanging from the trunk and swaying in the light breeze. Jonathan and Tobi were standing at the foot of the tree next to their backpacks, staring at the two teens walking towards them. Before they reached the tree, another figure was revealed as they came out from behind the tree; Brad.

“Hey man, you ready?” Tobi said as he jogged towards them, Jonathan and Brad following afterwards.

Josh gulped and inhaled sharply. “It’s now or never, I guess.”

“I heard about your plans to break up with Freya and I wanted to help.” Stated Brad, standing beside Tobi and folding his arms.

“Okay, thanks Brad.”

“We need to get set up. Josh, you go off and get Freya to come over to the tree and me, Simon, Brad and Jonathan will wait behind the trunk.”

“What do I say?”

“Say something like, ‘do you want to hang out for a bit’ or ‘I need to talk to you in private’. It doesn’t matter though, just get her ass over here.”

“Right. Simon, you’re going to stay here, I’ll be back in a minute.” Josh let go of Simon’s hand and watched as Tobi held out his own palm. Simon took it, and for some reason Josh’s shoulders felt even tenser. He brushed it aside then observed his four friends walk to the tree. The brunet turned away and jogged to one of the places Freya could be.

Josh entered the dining room through its open doors and glanced around the packed room. Every table was taken and there were people standing impatiently in the lunch queue. It was most likely that Freya would be with her friend group, sitting around one of the circular tables. No luck.

He retreated out of the canteen and walked back up the corridor to the dining hall. Almost immediately his hazel eyes landed on the blonde. She was seated on a long-legged blue seat around the outside, her eyes concentrated on her friend’s face. Adrenaline levels rose and he felt numb as his legs walked him over to his girlfriend.

“Hey, Frey.”

Her hair whipped around as she faced his wide eyes. “Hey, babe. What’s up?”

“Would you like to hang out for a bit?”

“Of course! Wait, where’s your blind friend?”

“He’s with Tobi and that-“

“So he’s not going to be with us? It’s just going to be you and me?”

Josh realised that Freya wasn’t keen on his new friend. “Yes.”

The blonde unhooked her legs from the chair legs and hopped down the small distance between the chair and the floor. Her fingers found her way to Josh’s hand and their fingers laced together. This time, Josh felt no spark as he usually did when Freya held his hand.

The young couple walked out of the dining room after the blonde bid her friends goodbye.

“So, what do you want to do, Joshie?”

“Well, I-I… maybe we could talk for a bit, something like that?” Josh stuttered.

“Oh come on, you can be more romantic than that! You’re my boyfriend, Josh,” She hinted, swinging his and her hands in front and behind them. “We could go someplace that no one goes and, y’know, let things-“

“No, Freya. I don’t want to.”

“But, Joshie-“ Freya drew out the ‘e’ sound.

“I said no, Freya.”

“You’re no fun anymore. What has your new _friend_ done to you? We used to do this all the time. You’re not turning gay are you Josh?”

“What? No.” He insisted, letting go of her hand. _‘You don’t just turn gay’_ Josh added silently, shoving his hands in his blazer pockets.

The oak tree stood beautifully in the sunlight, it’s leaves reflecting the light and making it seem like they were shining. The couple sat down then Freya rested her head on his shoulder, her light blonde hair trailing down his front.

“Freya, I need to tell you something.” The brunet murmured.

“Hmm?”

“I… I don’t want to… t-to be with you anymore.”

Freya’s heart stopped beating. She lifted up her head and her soft expression turned into one of hatred. “What?”

“I don’t… want to be with you anymore,” Josh repeated, this time with more confidence. “I don’t feel the same with you as I did a couple of years ago-“

“You waited 2 years to tell me you don’t love me anymore?” Her thin frame stood up suddenly, and Josh immediately felt belittled. “How dare you! I knew that fucking blind kid turned you gay. You’ve changed Josh.” She picked up Josh by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the tree.

“Frey-“

“No, Josh.” She raised her palm from the brunet’s collar and slapped his cheek, the sound echoing throughout the grounds. Josh couldn’t move. His cheek stung like Hell and he was sure that would leave a red hand imprint. She slapped his other cheek just as hard, but this time with the back of her hand. He gathered up some strength and shoved Freya back roughly so she fell onto the ground with a grunt. Her hands pushed her up and she lunged at Josh, pushing him against the tree. His head hit the bark with a thud and his eyes shut as he fell limp to the floor.

“Josh!” Tobi yelled as Josh’s four friends emerged from the tree trunk. “Brad, stay here with Simon.”

Brad grabbed Simon’s other hand lightly and the blond stood in shock. Jonathan and Tobi yelled at Freya and she turned away angrily. She walked away in a huff. The two then gathered around Josh.

“What happened?” Simon questioned.

“You heard Freya and Josh break up, right? Well, Freya didn’t like that and she slapped him twice. He shoved her back but she lunged at him and made him bang his head on the tree which made him pass out.

Simon gasped and let go of Brad’s hand, running to where he thought Josh would be. Luckily, the blond stopped just before stumbling over Josh’s head. He squatted down and felt around Josh’s face, repeating ‘oh my God’ over and over. Gently, Simon raised Josh’s head and placed it on his lap. His fingers combed through his hair, the hair in question soft and comforting beneath his fingertips.

Jonathan glanced over his body. “I think he has concussion, he needs to go to a hospital.”

“It’s not too bad, though.”

“You don’t know that, Tobi. If he passed out from knocking his head, it’s probably more serious than you think.”

“How do you know this?”

“My mother’s a nurse.”

Brad jogged over, concern plastered over his face. “Is he okay?”

Jonathan stood up and confronted Brad. “He probably has a concussion. Do you know a hospital around here?”

“No. There’s an infirmary on the other side of the school though.”

“Yeah, that’ll do.”

“I can run over to the nurse, if you want.” Tobi suggested, knowing he’s the quickest of the group.

“If you could, that would be great.” Jonathan stated, going back over to Josh’s unconscious body and sitting by the bottom of his feet.

Simon sat quietly, fingers still combing through Josh’s hair. They travelled down his face to Josh’s cheeks which felt burning hot from the impact of Freya’s palm. Some girlfriend she was.


	7. vii

Simon sat on an uncomfortable seat in a room which smelled strongly of strong disinfectant. Tobi stood against a wall watching the nurse tend to his still unconscious friend.

“Shouldn’t he be admitted to a hospital?”

The blonde-haired woman looked up at Tobi’s concerned-ridden face. “No, he’ll be fine. It’s just a small bump.”

Tobi couldn’t find the courage to argue with the woman so he walked forward to Simon and placed his hand on his bony shoulder.

“I’m gonna go now, Simon. It’s nearly 4th period and I have a practice test,” Simon nodded. “I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks Tobi.” The blond mumbled into the palm covering his mouth. The hand was removed from his shoulder and Simon heard the door open then slam shut.

Simon closed his cornflower blue eyes and leant his head against the wall. The nurse turned her head around to face Simon, her blonde ponytail swinging over to her other shoulder. She smiled to herself and walked out of the door, leaving the boys alone.

5 minutes later, the bell rang signifying that 4th period was about to begin. The brunet woke up with a start; his hazel eyes squinting from the bright white surroundings and the pain in the back of his head. He hissed and raised his hand to shade his eyes. With his other hand, he pushed his body into an upright position and took in more of his surroundings. Josh spotted Simon sleeping peacefully in a chair, his hair squashed against the wall. _‘That’s cute,’_ Josh commented silently, unable to take his eyes of the boy.

“Oh, you’re awake,” A skinny woman in a very revealing nurse’s uniform closed the door carefully behind her as she entered the small room. “How do you feel?”

“Okay, I guess.” Josh said, managing to rip his eyes away from Simon and onto the nurse.

“That’s good. Now,” She pulled a rolling-chair from her desk in front of the bed Josh was sat on and perched herself on it. She swivelled it round so she was facing the bearded man. “What do you have 4th and 5th?”

“Uh, double PE I think.”

“You have a choice. You can stay here and your friend can go, or I can give you a note that allows you to sit out of PE. You can also have the day off tomorrow with whichever option you choose.”

Josh thought for a moment; sit in a room with a far too sexed up woman without Simon or watch whatever game his class were playing for PE with Simon.”  
“I’m feeling a lot better, can I have the note please?”

The nurse nodded, her manicured fingernails reflecting the light in the room. “Yes, sure! I’ll just write you a note and you can be on your way!” She faced the desk and picked up a yellow slip of paper then scribbled some barely readable words on it. She gave it to Josh. “Oh, I’ll also give you an ice pack.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” She said, reaching into the mini-fridge next to her and pulling out the ice pack. She placed a paper towel around the perimeter and presented it to Josh who took willingly, eager to get away from this creepy nurse.

“Simon, bro.” The brunet pushed himself off the bed and shook Simon’s shoulder. His eyelids fluttered open.

“Josh?”

“Yeah, it’s me-“

“Are you okay?” The blond interrupted, his eyes wide in concern.

“Yes, I’m fine. Come on, let’s go,” He turned to the nurse. “Thanks miss.”

Once the infirmary door closed behind them, the cool spring breeze blew across their faces, gently blowing their hair to the side.

“I was so scared, Josh.” Simon stated, his barely audible voice penetrated through the breeze.

“About what?”

“About losing you.”

Josh chuckled softly. “I wasn’t hit that hard, Simon.”

“It sounded like it was.”

The pair stopped walking and Josh pulled Simon round to face him. “It’s okay. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

The blond nodded, his eyes aimed at the path. Josh took Simon’s hand in his own and led him around the back of the school where the boys were playing football.

Once they got past the large wire fence surrounding the field, the coach spotted them and walked over.

“Joshua, where have you been?”

“I was in the infirmary, sir.”

“Do you have a note?”

Josh let go of Simon’s hand and dug around in his pocket, eventually pulling out the yellow slip. He handed it to the coach whose eyes skimmed over the messy handwriting.

“Okay, you can lie on the bench in the shelter if you want,” His attention turned to the slightly taller boy. “And who are you?”

“His name’s Simon, sir. He can’t see, that’s why I’m holding his hand.”

“Why are you in PE if you’re blind?”

“He takes the same lessons as me, sir. I was told he could do the theory work.”

The coach, Mr Matty, sighed and nodded. “Strange, but okay. It’s just physical work today, lads. Both of you can sit in the shelter.” Mr Matty ran back over to the pitch where one boy had just fallen over the ball.

Josh pulled Simon to the small wooden cabin at the side of the field. Upon opening the door, Simon turned to Josh.

“What does this room look like?”

“The door we’ve just walked through is at the end of the cabin, but it’s along the side facing the pitch. Along the front are several window panes with tables beneath them. On the opposite side, there’s a long bench and a water cooler in the middle.”

Simon visualised this in his mind. “It’s very comfortable.”

Josh hummed and sat next to Simon on the bench, the arm holding the ice pack rose up to the back of his head. Once it touched his head, Josh hissed, his hand reflexing and pulling the ice pack away quickly.

“Are you okay?” Simon questioned, his own head facing his friend.

“Yeah, it’s just cold,” He replied, slowly replacing the ice pack. “I swear nurses think that ice packs are a miracle cure. Banged your foot on a door? Ice pack. Punched and a tooth’s been knocked out? Ice pack. Literally cut your arm off? Get an ice pack on that shit.”

Simon broke out into laughter making a smug smile creep onto Josh’s face. _‘I need to make you laugh more often,’_ Thought Josh, still staring at Simon who had now calmed down a little. _‘That was adorable.’_

“What?” Simon exclaimed, eyes staring at Josh.

“What?” Josh returned, his cheeks tinting red. _‘Did I say that out loud?’_

The blond said nothing, a smile still lingering on his face. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, the boys glaring out of the window. Josh lowered the ice pack from his head and looked at it, not sure if he was expecting anything. He placed the ice pack on the bench beside him and asked Simon if he wanted a glass of water.

“Sure.” Simon replied, standing up to remove his blazer. The brunet pushed himself off the bench and retrieved two cups of fresh water from the cooler. He gave one to Simon who nearly gulped the contents down in one. Simon’s eyes began to droop again while Josh placed both of the cups on the table in front of them. When Josh sat down, he rested his arm on the arm rest and his frame leant against the back wall. Josh was about to shut his eyes and take a nap when he felt a weight against his shoulder. When he looked over, he saw Simon leaning against him with his eyes closed. Smiling inwardly to himself, Josh wrapped his arm around Simon’s resting form and rubbed his shoulder a few times before deciding that he needs to rest as well.


	8. viii

“Joshua,” A large hand shook Josh’s warm shoulder, jolting him awake from his peaceful slumber. “It’s half past 3, you and Simon can go back to your dorms now.”

The brunet looked at Mr Matty and thanked him, then once he left, Josh nudged Simon. He lifted his head from his shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“We can go. We slept through 4th and 5th.”

The blond stood up and waited for Josh’s hand to be placed in his own. Josh picked up the now heated ice pack and grasped Simon’s hand. They walked out of the door, then out of the field together, Josh making sure to lock the fence gate behind them.

“So how was it, today?” Josh asked, eyes resting on his friend’s face.

“Apart from the argument in English, Freya going haywire and you nearly getting killed, I think it’s gone pretty well.” The blond concluded, eyes still resting on the concrete path in front of them.

Josh laughed. “Yeah, today has been pretty shit. Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault, Josh. People are assholes.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“So,” Simon said. “What do we do when we get back to the dorms?”

“We can do whatever we want. Within reason, obviously. But at 6pm, we have to attend dinner.”

“Why? We didn’t have to during the holidays.”

“The staff cater for us during weekdays after school. During holidays and weekends we have to go out and find food ourselves.”

Simon sighed and gently swung both of their connected hands. “That’s a bit lazy.”

Josh agreed then they walked in silence until they reached the front door of the first boy’s dorm. Walking down the corridor brought back memories of when Simon first came to the boarding school. Josh thought about this memory until the pair reached the door to their room. They stepped in and closed the door behind them. Josh took off his backpack and unloaded all of the books from the day. He sat on his bed and lay Simon’s books filled with information from the day, then he got out his own book and copied up the information as quickly as he could.

“Josh?” Simon called from his own bed.

“Yeah?”

“Did you hand the ice pack back to the nurse?”

Josh felt around in his blazer pocket, finding the warm and leaking ice pack soaking the fabric.

“Oh, shit, I need to hand it back,” The brunet placed down his pen and jogged to the door. “You’ll be okay on your own, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in five minutes.” He ran out of the door, leaving it open in the process.

Simon sat back on his bed bored out of his mind. He was in the mood for doing something, but he didn’t know what. He then felt a presence at the door.

“Hey, Simon, do you know where Josh is?” Asked a familiar male voice.

“He’s giving the ice pack back to the nurse, he’ll be back in a minute. You can wait in here if you want.”

The person stepped in. _‘Heavy footsteps. Male. Knows Josh. Brad.’_ Deducted Simon.

“It’s Brad, right?”

“Who else?” Brad questioned rhetorically, coming over to sit on the edge of Simon’s bed facing the door. “You okay, buddy?”

Simon nodded, bringing his hand up to his head and running his fingers through his blond hair. “Why do you want to know where Josh is?”

“I was thinking of asking him to come out with me and Jonathan on Saturday. Jonathan got some money in the mail and it’s enough for a few cinema tickets,” Brad thought for a moment. “Hey, you can come along too, if you want.”

Appreciating the friendly gesture, the blond agreed on one condition. “Only if Josh goes.”

“You two are pretty much inseparable,” The chubbier man stated. “It’s almost as if you’re a couple.”

Simon’s face tinted red.

“Just a thought, are you gay?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.”

“It’s okay. Did you know there are two lesbians in this school? Heather and Samantha. They’ve been together for almost a year now. They’re such a great couple, I actually think that you and Josh kinda act like them-“

Just then, Josh jogged through the door, panting slightly. “Hey Brad, what’s up?”

“Oh, would you and Simon like to go with me and Jonathan to the cinema this weekend? I’m asking on behalf of Jonathan.”

Josh looked over to Simon who was fiddling with his fingers. “Yeah, sure, why not?”

Brad leapt up from the bed, landing heavily on his feet. He strode over to Josh and put his hand on his shoulder. “Excellent. We’ll meet up at 2pm outside the school gates.”

“What film are we seeing?”

“Uh, the new Ghostbusters, I think. It’s apparently really good.”

“Okay. Sounds good, right Simon?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, see you around.” Brad lowered his hand and strode out of the door and closed it behind him.

Josh walked back over to his bed and got out his diary he kept in the bedside drawer. Under Saturday’s date, he wrote, _‘Cinema – Brad, Jonathan, Simon – 2pm’_.

2 hours later, it was 5:30, half an hour before the dinner started. The boys still had 20 minutes to kill before they left for the dining hall.

“You know you said your handwriting’s messy?”

“Mm-hm.”

“I have an idea. It might now work, but it’s worth a shot,” The brunet ripped a page from the back of his homework book and strolled over to Simon’s bed with 2 pencils and one of his text books. Simon scooted to the edge of the bed nearest the door, his back still pressed up against the headboard. Josh knelt next to him on the bed. “Open your hand.”  
Simon did so and a pencil was pressed in his palm. He gripped the pencil with his hand and Josh pushed him forwards slightly. Getting the hint, the blond moved to the middle of the duvet, and stopped when he felt a book and a piece of paper by his crossed legs. His elbows rested on his knees as Josh hovered over his shoulder, a hand on Simon’s shoulder.

“Write out the alphabet.”

Simon followed this instruction and shakily wrote out the alphabet. Some of the letters sat on the line, but the rest were above or below. 

Josh bit his lip. “Okay. Let’s try something…” He spoke, mainly to himself.

Without warning, Josh’s right hand covered Simon’s one that held the pencil. The blond’s heart raced as Josh guided his own hand across the paper. Simon visualised what Josh was writing and he figured it out to be the alphabet. He memorised the patterns the letters made, and once his hand stopped writing, he let go of the pencil and leaned back, forgetting that Josh was directly behind him. Simon’s back knocked Josh into the mattress, and soon the boys were led on top of one another, giggling to themselves.

“Sorry about that.” Simon said in between giggles.

“No, no, it’s fine.” Josh replied, the tips of his ears and cheeks going red. Josh’s legs wrapped themselves around Simon’s tiny waist then his arms linked across his chest, pulling Simon even closer to his body.

Once they stopped laughing, the brunet untangled his arms and legs from around the blond and looked at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, shit, we need to go, Simon.”


	9. ix

“We have 5 minutes to get to the dining hall and grab a seat.” Said Josh as he pushed his body up off the bed. Simon followed afterwards, grabbing the brunet’s hand in the process.

“What if there are no seats?”

“There should be. Everyone’s usually late so we won’t be the only ones,” They strode out of the door and down the familiar hallway to the door. Josh pushed the door outwards and led Simon out, stopping to close the door after exiting. They continued down the footpath side by side. “But if there are no seats, then we’ll have to eat standing up or something. Brad, Jonathan and Tobi said they would try and save some seats for us though.”

The boys walked in silence the rest of the way, but for some reason Josh kept flicking his eyes from the path to Simon. The Mediterranean blue of his eyes mesmerised him and the light blond hair made them stand out like the sea against the sand. Every time Simon smiled his dimples made an appearance.

Simon could feel his friend’s eyes scanning around his face, but this didn’t bother him at all. He just continued walking down the path until Josh stopped and opened the door, ushering Simon to go inside.

Once the pair reached the dining room’s open doors, the loud chatter of the students filled their ears. Warmth radiated their faces as they went inside and stood in the lunch queue.

“What is there?” Simon asked, sandwiched between Josh and the guy in front of him.

“There are…” He glanced around the lunch queue, seeing the many colourful foods on the heated counter. “Carrots, peas, sweetcorn, jacket potatoes, chips, tomatoes, toast, baked beans, sausages and sandwiches.”

“I think I’ll have a jacket potato. I’m not that hungry.”

“Did you eat lunch?”

“No,” Simon paused. “Was I?”

“Oh, Simon, you haven’t eaten all day,” Josh cast his mind back to the beginning of the day and realised they had forgotten to go to the breakfast this morning. “And we didn’t have breakfast.”

They moved up a couple of spots in the queue. “Is there a breakfast in here as well?”

“Yes. And lunch preparation.” The brunet dragged a hand down his face and stopped at his mouth.

“Sorry, Josh-“

“No, it’s not your fault, how would you have known there was breakfast?”

Sensing discomfort and guilt in Josh’s voice, Simon let go of his hand to rub a palm over his back. “It’s okay. We won’t forget tomorrow.”

Josh looked over at the blond and smiled. The lunch queue moved forward and the two of them were at the food counter. Josh grabbed two plates and piled some food for himself and a jacket potato for Simon.

“Do you want tuna, cheese or sweetcorn on yours?” He questioned.

“I don’t mind, just not tuna. I hate fish.”

Josh scooped up some cheese and filtered it over the potato. He picked up both plates and moved towards the drinks before telling Simon to walk forward. He complied and held onto the back of his shirt.

“Do you want water, apple juice, blackberry juice, orange juice, tea or coffee?”

“Water please.” The blond answered, scraping the loose hair behind his ear.

Josh filled two polystyrene cups with water then handed a cup to Simon. They walked forward slowly.

“Here,” He held the plate in front of Simon, who raised his free arm and gently placed his hand around the edges. “Don’t touch the bottom, it’s hot.”

“Where do we sit?”

“Luckily there are loads of seats free,” Josh’s hazel eyes scanned around the room searching for one of his other friends. He spotted Brad sitting with some girls and Jonathan and Tobi sitting at a table alone in the opposite corner. Tobi saw them and beckoned them towards him. “Okay, turn to your right a bit and keep walking forward until I say.”

Cautiously, Simon followed Josh’s instructions and stopped as soon as he said. Simon felt Josh take the plate and cup out of his hands and onto the wooden table surface.

“There’s a seat there.”

Simon kneed the seat then perched himself on it, swinging his legs around and placing them under the table. Josh placed his meal and beverage on the table then ran over to where the cutlery was. He picked out a fork, a knife and a spoon; the fork and knife for him, the spoon for Simon. He jogged back over to the table and sat in between Tobi and Simon.

“Hey, Josh.” The American greeted, cutting one of his sausages in half and shovelling it into his mouth.

“Hey.”

“So, you’re okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. The nurse gave me an ice pack once I woke up.”

Tobi and Simon sat listening to the conversation while eating their food.

“Did you not go to a hospital?”

“No.”

“She needs to be fired, you know.”

“I agree,” Josh used his knife to scrape some beans onto his fork. “She’s very creepy.”

Tobi nodded. “She’s so sexed-up. It makes me sick.”

“I swear she’s just some random prostitute Dr Sherwood found on the streets.” Jonathan spoke, gulping down some juice.

“Acts like it as well.” Tobi added.

“How was your day, guys?” Josh enquired, glancing first at Tobi then at Jonathan.

“Okay. Drama was a pain though,” The American cut up another sausage. “Mrs Stiles revealed the day of our exam. Next Thursday. It’s going to take the whole day.”

“Is that just for your class or everyone?”

“Everyone I think.”

“Tobi?” The brunet handed the conversation to Tobi who was scraping the remains of his meal onto the fork.

“The maths test went well. I think I did okay, you know. Oh, and Freya was put into isolation.”

This caught Josh’s attention. He directed his gaze to Tobi. “For how long?”

“A month. Her parents are also getting a letter home and they’re going to decide what to do with her.”

“How do you know this?”

“I heard Brad talk about it with Dr Sherwood in his office.”

“You eavesdropped?”

Tobi stared at Josh. “Wouldn’t you?”

The brunet tore his gaze away from his best friend. “I guess.”

Simon finished up his small meal and put his spoon on the plate and rubbed his eyes. Josh looked over at him and finished up his meal.

“Well, I think we’ll go now.” He stated, getting to his feet.

“What, already? Josh, you eat so quickly.”

“We have homework to do. Plus I’m exhausted.”

“Today has been tiring.” Jonathan said, turning his attention towards the two boys.

Josh tapped Simon on the shoulder, signifying that they were leaving. Josh took his plate and empty cup off the table and they walked over to the washing bucket. He placed the plates in the grey box and the cups in the bin beside it. Simon grabbed his hand and they exited the dining hall.

“Josh?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

Josh wore a confused expression. “For what?”

“For, uh,” Simon thought, stumbling over his words. “For not treating me like a child. Everyone I’ve ever met has treated me differently. Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I can’t do things that others can.”

Lost for words, Josh kept walking and looked towards the ground.

“Everyone treats me like I’m some sort of 5 year old who can’t do anything. It’s made me feel worthless, but you’ve changed that,” Simon faced the brunet. “Thank you.”  
“Ah, man,” He commented, not sure what emotion to feel. “It’s no problem. I’m sorry that others have made you feel like shit.”

“It’s not your fault,” The blond faced the front. “I’m honestly so surprised that I’ve found someone like you. It’s rare you find someone so kind who’s not an asshole behind my back. You’ve honestly changed my whole life and I’m thankful for that.”

The added statement only made Josh blush harder. “I also need to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For making me gather up the courage to dump Freya.”

“It’s no problem. She was toxic, she had to go.”

The boys arrived at their shared dorm. Once the door was shut, Simon placed a kiss on Josh’s cheek.

“Thank you once again, Josh.”


	10. x

Josh’s heart raced. His hazel eyes were wide open in shock and his mouth hung agape. Simon’s form turned away from the other man and he sat on the edge of his bed, elbows seated on his knees. _‘He kissed me?’_ His mind kept replaying the moment from different perspectives and every time it surprised him.

“Josh?” Simon’s voice pierced through Josh’s thoughts and shook him into reality.

“Oh, uh- yeah?” He stuttered, struggling to come up with a full sentence.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmm. Yeah, yeah.”

Simon’s brow furrowed then he shuffled back to the headboard and closed his eyes. Josh pushed the moment out of his head and reached for his homework book, planner and pencil case. He carried them over to his desk which he then sat at. Turning to the appropriate pages, his eyes read over the day’s English homework; ‘write a speech lasting 3-7 minutes on a topic of your choice’. Josh glanced upwards and thought of several topics he could speak about before writing them down in his book. So far, he had three topics: euthanasia, animal testing and LGBT rights. After some moments thinking, he decided to write about LGBT rights.

“What are you doing, Josh?”

Josh glanced behind him to look at Simon. “English homework. We have to write a speech,” He paused, remembering that he needs to write a speech for Simon as well. “I’ll help you do yours, if you want.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“So,” The brunet got up from his desk and wandered over to Simon with a pen and homework book. “What do you want to make a speech on?”

“Something I can relate to.”

“What can you relate to?” Josh perched on the end of the blond’s bed and readied his pen.

Simon emerged himself in thoughts. “I guess something about animals- or being blind. Or gay rights, I guess.”

Josh froze. _‘Gay rights?’_ “You can relate to gay rights?”

Realizing what he just implied, Simon’s hands raised and covered his face. He groaned at himself. “I suppose I have to come out now, huh?”

“I-If you want, you don’t have to if it makes you feel awkward or something.”

“Okay, well I’m gay. I guess you knew?”

“No, no, I didn’t know.” _‘But I had my suspicions,_ ’ He thought.

“Will that change things between us?”

“Of course not. Anyway, what do you want to start with?” Josh changed the subject feeling a mixture of emotions from the previous topic.

“Something like, ‘Today I will be discussing gay rights and the controversy around gay relationships.’”

The bearded man wrote down the opening. “How about we change ‘gay rights’ into ‘LGBT rights’? It’s more to talk about and stuff.”

“Yeah okay.” Simon joined his hands together, linking his fingers with his fingers on the other hand.

Over the next 30 minutes, Josh listened quietly to Simon and wrote down all he could. His handwriting was messy, but at least it was readable. He could write it out again, anyway.

“You need to learn this speech for next week.”

“Wasn’t the homework in for Wednesday?”

“Yeah, but the speaking exam is next week sometime.”

The blond sighed heavily, exhaling the warm air. “I’m not good at speaking in front of other people.”

“It’s okay, not everyone is comfortable with speaking,” He reassured, moving around to sit next to Simon against the headboard. He rubbed his back and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. “I’ll help you with learning the speech.”

“Is this going towards our final grade?”

“Yes.”

The blond’s heart raced even more as he feared that he would fail. “Oh no.”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. You’ll know the speech off by heart by then and you’ll blow their socks off.”

Simon chuckled nervously. “I doubt it, Josh.”

“Bro, stop doubting yourself. You’ll do fine. Even if you don’t first time around, you’ll have the chance to retake it later.”

The blond smiled and un-tensed his shoulders, suddenly feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

By 10:00pm, the brunet had finished writing their speeches. Josh placed both of them on his desk, ready for them to memorise it.

Simon was already in bed, peacefully sleeping away the night. Josh, however, was still up thinking about his blond friend. He lay atop of his duvet, legs crossed at the ankles and his hands laced together. His frantic mind ran through Simon’s ‘thank you’ speech, the kiss and when Simon came out. It made him think; it made him think about how _he_ felt about Simon. It was obvious to anyone that they liked each other. Whenever Simon so much as laughed or talked to Josh, he felt a rush of energy and his stomach did somersaults. The brunet had never felt this way about any of his friends, not even Freya. The pair trusted each other and Simon depended on Josh which must take a lot of trust.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Josh noted that it was half past ten. He suddenly felt really tired and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.


	11. xi

When Josh was awoken by his alarm, his eyes opened gradually. The light sneaked around the edges of the blue curtain covering the only window in the room. Josh swung his legs around and turned off the alarm as soon as he sat up. Looking over to where Simon was led, he noticed that he was not awake. He pushed himself out of the bed and sneaked over to the sleeping blond. Josh was deciding how to wake him up, and he eventually settled on tapping Simon’s shoulder repeatedly.

“Hey.”

The blond’s eyes opened and Josh looked deeply into the mesmerising blue colour of them. “Morning, Josh.”

The brunet tore his eyes away from the other and he walked away to give Simon room to get up.

“What lessons do we have today?”

Completely forgetting about the incoming day’s lessons, Josh hurried over to his timetable and scanned across the card.

“We have chemistry, English, IT, drama and maths.”

“So a shitty day, huh?” Simon stated as he chuckled breathlessly.

“Yeah. Well, drama’s not too bad.”

The blond walked around the edge of the bed and pulled open his closet containing his clothes. He felt around, searching for his blazer, white shirt, tie, black trousers and underwear. To give him some privacy, Josh walked over to his wardrobe and focused on getting himself dressed. Afterwards, he strode over to his desk and picked up the books he and Simon would need for the day.

“Where are my shoes, Josh?”

Josh scoured the room with his eyes and spotted his friend’s shoes by the door. He picked them up and placed them by Simon’s feet.

“They’re in front of you.”

“Thank you.” Simon’s feet slid into the shoes and he bent down to tie the shoelaces.

Both boys were eventually out of the boy’s dorm and walking down the similar path to the main building when Simon unexpectedly stopped in the middle of the path.

“Did you feel uncomfortable when I kissed you yesterday?”

“No. In fact, I actually kinda liked it.” Josh’s cheeks tinted with red and they continued walked down the path.

-

It was a long day of listening, writing and listening again, but at long last both boys were dismissed from their final lesson.

“Today was exhausting, Josh. It’s only two days into the term.” Simon flopped down on his bed, removing his shoes with his feet.

“School’s tiring, it’s just how it is unfortunately.” Josh placed down his rucksack and unzipped the bad, retrieving his homework book and pencil case. He walked over to his desk and started completing the maths homework he and Simon were set.

A comfortable silence fell upon the room as the brunet worked and the blond lay on his bed, playing out different unlikely scenarios in his head.

“Simon.”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh,” Josh gulped nervously, his leg beginning to shake up and down. “I need to tell you something.”

Sensing the anxiousness in his friend’s voice, Simon hummed and listened patiently.

“I don’t want it to affect our friendship negatively or anything… but anyway, I’m bisexual.”

Time appeared to freeze to the blond as his eyes shot open. Simon felt a mixture of emotions, and all of them were positive. “Okay.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I’m gay, Josh, of course I don’t mind.” Simon laughed, causing Josh to giggle along with him.

“And I want to ask for your advice.” The brunet stood up and walked to Simon’s bed, sitting along the edge.

“Go for it.”

“I-I think I _like someone_. A guy, I mean.”

Simon nodded, silently hoping that it was him. “What’s his name?”

“I don’t want to say yet.”

“What do you need help with?”

“Well, I don’t know how to ask him out.”

“Do you know he’s gay?”

“… Maybe.”

“Is he a friend-“

“Simon, I’m not going to say who he is. All I’m going to say is he is the sweetest person I’ve ever met. He doesn’t know how amazing he is, as cheesy as it sounds. I love everything about him; I could honestly stare into his eyes for an eternity, I wish I could make him laugh more because his laugh is the cutest shit ever,” Josh’s frame turned towards Simon and he stared into his eyes, his hand hovering over Simon’s flat one on the bed. “He’s perfect, Simon, I don’t know what to do.”

The blond felt his face heating up rapidly. He could feel Josh’s gaze on him. “I would tell him how you feel- actually, I’m in a similar situation.”

Josh paused. _‘Wait, what?’_ “Oh yeah?”

“I wish I could see him. I wish I could gaze into his eyes and- I just want to stare at him because the image in my head isn’t enough.”

“Who is he?”

“I’m not saying until you say yours, Josh.”

“Okay,” Josh stopped to breathe in deeply. “So, uh… it’s you, Simon.”

Simon couldn’t stop the smile creeping onto his face as he scooted onto his knees. He leaned forward and grabbed Josh by the side of his face and planted his lips onto the brunet’s soft ones. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but after they pulled away, both boys were out of breath.

“So who was yours?”

Simon chuckled. “It’s you, you moron.” The blond pulled Josh up onto the bed and the pair sat side by side against the headboard. Josh placed his head on Simon’s shoulder while Simon interlaced their fingers together. This time, it felt different from the other times; it felt more intimate, and much better.

Simon’s head nestled itself in Josh’s dark brown hair and for the first time in his life, he felt safe.


	12. xii

The next 3 days seemed to fly by. Simon and Josh managed to keep their relationship a secret, but they agreed that Saturday would be the day they told Brad, Jonathan and Tobi.

Josh awoke with a start from a nightmare he just had; the one he’d had since the beginning of his relationship with the blond. He was chased down a darkened alleyway by a faceless figure with a knife and eventually the alley ended and he was approached by the tall figure. He woke up before he was killed.

Josh thought about telling Simon, but he decided to keep it to himself. Surely it can’t mean anything.

The first thing the brunet noticed when his eyes opened was that he was not in his bed and there was an arm wrapped around his torso, clinging onto him gently. Josh gripped the arm under the covers and tried to pry it off him. In response, the arm pulled him closer to the person behind him until his back was against the other’s chest. He turned to face Simon and laced his arm around his body. The ends of his mouth lifted and his whole body seemed like it was floating on Cloud 9.

“Simon, we have to wake up-“

“I’m comfy here though.” The blond replied, kicking his legs forward and lacing them inbetween Josh’s legs.

The brunet giggled. “I know, Si, but we have to get up. We’re meeting Brad and Jonathan in half an hour.”

Simon grumbled and retrieved his arm and legs then finally opened his eyes which stared into Josh’s own. His heart clenched as he stared back into the blue eyes and he smiled. His hand found Simon’s hair and the fingers stroked the strands individually, combing the perfect blond hair that Josh loved.

Eventually the boys got out of bed and dressed in their clothes ready to meet their two friends at 2pm.

“Ready?” Josh asked, waiting eagerly by the door.

“Yep.”

“Let’s go then.”

They walked out of the door as usual and 5 minutes later they found their way to the front gate. Brad and Jonathan leaned against the wall next to the exit wrapped up in their own conversation. Once Simon and Josh were closer to them, they snapped out of the conversation and greeted their friends.

“You ready?” Brad asked, excited to get going.

“Yeah. When does the movie start?” The brunet questioned.

“3 o’clock,” Replied Jonathan who was in the midst of opening the large metal gate. “Come on.”

The walk to the cinema a few blocks down the road was quiet, apart from the sound of the passing cars and the birds tweeting from the trees and rooftops. There was a breeze and it was surprisingly sunny, the sky sporting a luscious blue and fluffy white clouds littering the sky’s canvas.

Josh occasionally glanced over at his quiet boyfriend by his side, his mind sorting through multiple scenarios the boys can do. Then he noticed that they were both over 16 – the legal age of consent for England. This excited Josh more than it should have and his heart raced at the thought that – if Simon agreed, of course – they could do _it_. He would propose the opportunity tonight if he remembered and sported the confidence.

The four boys arrived at the cinema and Jonathan took out his wallet, the £20 note sliding out of its compartment and into the American’s hand.

“You guys go ahead and pick your drinks and candy, I’ll get us some good seats.” He said, already walking over to the ticket booth to order.

The three of them went over to the other counter that showed off the over-priced sweets, slushies and popcorn.

“Do you want to share some popcorn, Simon?” Questioned Josh, hand digging around in his pocket for his wallet.

“Yeah okay. But get plain please, I don’t really want salted or anything else.”

Josh let go of his hand and placed his order at the counter, also getting himself a blueberry slushie and Simon a bottle of water. Brad bought some popcorn and a couple of drinks for him and Jonathan.

The boys reunited and travelled to their respective screen room. Jonathan placed them in the middle on the right hand side. Simon and Josh sat by the aisle with Brad and Jonathan seated beside the brunet.

“Wait, Simon, how are you going to see the picture?”

“I’ll just listen. As long as you’re here, I don’t really care.” Simon said as he searched around for the bag of popcorn.

“I’ve got you a bottle of water,” Josh gave the bottle to Simon. “Be careful, it’s open.”

The blond thanked him and placed the bottle in the left cup holder. His hand grabbed some popcorn and he ate them hungrily.

-

After the movie had finished, the four friends decided to eat at a place called Nando’s. Simon hadn’t eaten here before, but after being told roughly what was on the menu, he wanted to give it a try.

They were seated at a table in the corner of the room, Josh obviously sitting next to Simon.

The waitress came over and they placed their orders, and then came the waiting game.

Confidence arose in the brunet as he found Simon’s hand and squeezed it under the table. “Me and Simon need to tell you guys something,” Josh started. “I don’t want it to affect our friendship, but anyway, we are together.”

Brad’s face lit up and a toothy grin appeared on his face. “Alright! Way to go, guys!” He leaned over the table and high-fived Josh who laughed at his reaction.

Jonathan looked happy to say the least. “I’m glad for you guys! Congratulations, man. So soon after Freya.”

“I got over her quickly.”

Simon’s face was red when Josh looked over, and Josh was grateful that his friends were supportive of them. But how would Tobi react? He came from a religious background, and Josh was pretty sure he was still Christian. They hadn’t talked much about it in the past, but the brunet held his hopes high. After all, not all Christians are homophobic, and judging by how kind Tobi is, he would surely be accepting of the two’s newfound relationship.


	13. xiii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day because I could wait to write the smut lmao.

After the delicious meal at Nando’s came the walk back to the boy’s dorms. It was around 8pm when the four friends stepped out into the street, but because it was April, it was thankfully bright outside. The breeze had turned into occasional gusts of wind that made the boy’s hair rustle. Simon and Josh walked several paces behind Brad and Jonathan, which gave the boys some time to discuss the remainder of the day.

“Where will Tobi be?” Simon asked, keeping his head facing forwards.

“When we get back it will be about,” He took a glance at his watch. “Ten past 8. Tobi will either be just leaving the common room or in his dorm.”

“Where’s his dorm?”

“It’s the first door when we go into the boy’s dorm.”

Silence fell upon the pair as Josh gathered up the courage to propose the idea of _fun_ a little later on.

“So,” He cleared his throat. “How about we have some fun later?”

Simon’s mind ticked and when he realised what Josh was talking about, his cheeks and ears tinted heavily.

“Uh, sure, I mean, I haven’t done anything like that-“

“It’s okay, neither have I. We can learn together.”

Both boys laughed which caused Brad and Jonathan to look behind at the two giggling masses, wondering what they just said.

“We’ll have to be really quiet though because we’re not really allowed to do it on school premises,” Josh added humorously. “Male ejaculate travels at 28mph which technically makes it illegal in school zones.”

“How,” Simon began laughing again but this time much louder. “How- How do you know that?”

The brunet stared at his boyfriend with a smile plastered on his face. “I don’t actually know.”

-

The boys said their goodbyes to Brad and Jonathan who disappeared into their separate dorm rooms then they walked to the common room in search of Josh’s best friend. Josh scoured around the room at the 8 or so boys sat watching TV, on the computers or playing table football but didn’t spot Tobi.

“He’s not in here. Let’s check his room.”

They turned around and travelled back towards the front door and stopped just before Tobi’s room. Josh knocked three times on the hard wood ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) and waited for an answer. Footsteps were heard and the door opened to reveal Tobi in his pyjamas.

“I was just about to sleep, what’s up?” He said sleepily.

“Oh, I- we need to tell you something. Mind if we come in? It’s private at the moment.”

“Okay, but quickly, I’m tired.”

The pair stepped into the dorm and they stood awkwardly in the centre of the room facing Tobi and the closed door.

“Okay, so, I don’t want this to ruin our friendship, but me and Simon are a thing.”

Tobi’s face was unreadable for the first few seconds, but his straight face turned into a smile.

“Aw, congrats! You two make a really cute couple, man.” Tobi walked forward and clapped Josh’s shoulder. Relief washed over the couple’s faces.

“Thanks, man,” The brunet smiled. “We’ll see you around.”

Tobi opened the door again then closed it once the pair were outside.

“That was brief.” Simon stated, walking to their dorm besides Josh.

“Yeah, it was supposed to be,” He paused. “Because we have something to do.”

“You mean, you have something to do – me.” Simon faced Josh and wiggled his eyebrows in a joking attempt to be seductive.

The other laughed and blushed at the other’s witty remark, his hand coming up to his face to rub at the outer corners of his eyes.

“Oh my God, Simon-“

“You would say the same thing though.”

“Eh. Okay.”

-

Once the door was closed, Josh grabbed a glance at the clock: 8:15pm. It would be unlikely that anyone would walk in on them at this time since most of the students are forced go to bed at 8:30. Walked over to the window, Josh closed the blue curtains and turned around to find Simon sitting on _his_ bed, his thin legs dangling over the edge. The brunet walked over to the bed and squatted in front of Simon.

“Okay, um,” He laughed breathlessly and rubbed the nape of his neck. “Right.”

Josh placed his hands either side of Simon’s face as soon as he stood up and then he placed his lips onto the other’s while they closed their eyes. Their mouths moved in unison and suddenly Simon placed his hands on Josh’s waist, pulling him closer to his body. Josh opened his mouth to let his tongue slip through then Simon willingly opened his. Josh’s tongue investigated Simon’s mouth, tasting every corner he could find. Simon did the same, albeit a bit more hesitantly. Their teeth clashed unexpectedly and they both pulled away.

“For a first kiss, that was pretty heated.” Simon commented as he caught his breath back.

Josh grinned in return, his pupils dilating and his irises darkened in lust. He moved in for another kiss and immediately shoved his tongue into his mouth again, Simon accepting. Josh’s hands moved to the hem of Simon’s white shirt and he fiddled with it, waiting for Simon to approve. Moving away from the kiss, he lifted the shirt over the blond’s head and onto the floor by their feet. Simon became very self-conscious.

“Are you okay? We don’t have to go further if you don’t want-“

“I’ve just never been like this.”

“Is that a signal to stop?”

“Of course not.” Simon smirked before craning his neck, drawing Josh in for a third kiss. It didn’t go far as the brunet took off his shirt hurriedly and removing his trousers as well. His erection became evident, straining against the fabric uncomfortably. Knowing what Josh did, Simon stepped nervously out of his joggers and disposed of them on the floor. His erection too, was eagerly awaiting to be released from its fabric prison.

Josh and Simon kissed again, but this time was much sloppier as they hungered for each other. Their noses bumped against each other a few times, but they were so lost in the heat of the moment, neither cared. The brunet stopped the kiss.

“Sit down.”

Simon immediately sat down, Josh kneeling in front of him. He pushed his knees open and raised his hand to touch the outline of the other man’s dick. Simon sucked in a breath and bit his lip as Josh slowly traced the outline on his boxer-briefs. The brunet tugged at the top of his underwear, signalling for the other to take them off.

After they were disposed of along with most of the other clothing, Simon sat back down, knees spread in order to allow Josh to do whatever. Josh placed his hand around the base of Simon’s cock which caused him to inhale deeply. Josh drew his hand from the bottom to the crown of the dick while dipping his other hand into his boxers, stroking the sensitive flesh. Simon’s member twitched in his grip and the brunet repeated the gesture a few more times before deciding to move on.

“Lie down on the bed and draw your knees up.”

Simon complied, shifting back onto the bed with his head on Josh’s pillow. The other man followed suit after removing his own underwear.

“Are you sure you want to go this far, Si?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Josh gently prodded his finger against Simon’s mouth, and he opened up. His tongue coated Josh’s fingers in saliva then he withdrew his hand and maneuvered in between Simon’s spread legs.

“Try to relax, it’ll make this bit a lot easier. Also,” Josh looked around for something for the blond to bite down on. He picked up Simon’s discarded t-shirt and placed it in Simon’s hand. “Bite down on this if you need help being quiet.”

Simon nodded and clutched the shirt in his hand. Josh’s finger circled his opening and he pushed the tip of his middle finger inside. Simon squeaked and shoved the t-shirt between his teeth, biting down on it instantaneously.

“It’s okay, relax.” Josh waited for Simon to nod again before pushing in a bit more, wiggling the tip of his finger inside him. Simon was a lot warmer than he initially thought. He felt his boyfriend relax slightly so he pushed all the way in. The other tensed up and bit down on the shirt and he moaned into the fabric. Josh moved his finger slowly before adding another finger when Simon loosened up.

“Ah, Josh!” The fabric muffled his cry out.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just so weird.”

“It’s okay, just relax.” Josh moved both fingers, nearly withdrawing completely before pushing back in.

When Josh was satisfied, he took away his fingers, leaving Simon whining at the loss of contact. Josh held his dick in one hand while holding one of Simon’s legs open with the other and lined up with him.

“Remember to relax, Si. It’ll get better, I promise.” Josh reassured, his thumb stroking Simon’s leg before he spat into the hand and coated his cock in saliva and his precum. The tip of his dick touched Simon’s hole and the blond sharply took in a breath. Josh pressed his dick into the hole and he felt the head go in. Both boys moaned at the new level of intimacy. Josh gripped both of his boyfriend’s legs at the knee and pushed in slowly. Simon damn near screamed when he was hit with the sensation of being filled for the first time. The brunet leaned down to kiss him as his skinny legs wrapped around his torso, locking him in place. The both moaned loudly into each other’s mouths then Josh leaned back. He placed his hands either side of Simon’s tailbone and he hoisted his hips up. Simon gripped the sheets tightly as Josh pumped in and out of him slowly.

“Oh my God,” Simon breathed, knuckles going white from holding the duvet too hard. “This- Holy-“

Josh began moving faster and he moved his hands from Simon’s hips to near his head. He felt his hot breath against his face as he moved closer to his mouth.

“Jesus, Simon-“ Josh’s impending orgasm lurched closer quickly as he sped up, his hips rhythmically banging against Simon’s ass, hoping they weren’t being too loud from the action. Simon grunted with each thrust and he squeezed his eyes shut as he came ever closer to being sent over the edge. Josh’s thrusts began getting erratic and he came into Simon’s abused asshole. The blond felt his boyfriend’s cum leaking into, and out of, his hole and this sent him over the edge. Simon came for the first ever time over his torso, the sticky white liquid spluttering out of his dick with some of it dripped onto the sheets.

Josh pulled his softening cock out of Simon’s hole and he led next to Simon, placing kisses all over his face. The two were silenced from the action, their chests rising and falling with each other. The shirt from Simon’s mouth was nowhere to be seen and Simon turned onto his side to face Josh, his arms wrapping around his bare and sweaty torso. Josh felt the cum from Simon’s stomach leak onto his own skin and he thought of how it was him that caused it.

“That was intense as fuck.” Simon murmoured into Josh’s shoulder.

“Yeah. We need to get cleaned up, Si,” The brunet untangled himself from his boyfriend’s grip and he strode over to both of their underwear. “Here.” Josh chucked Simon’s underwear onto the bed, the boxer-briefs landing on Simon’s thigh.

After both of the boys had cleared up after themselves, they decided to sleep together in Simon’s bed as Josh’s was turning crusty from the drying cum. They changed into their pyjamas and cuddled sweetly in the bed as they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	14. xiv

When Josh woke up, a long, skinny arm pinned him down to the mattress. Attached to the arm was a naked torso and a head which belonged to his boyfriend Simon Minter. As Josh looked over him, the previous night’s action flooded back to him. He wondered if they had rushed into this, to which his mind replied yes and his heart replied no. Josh swung his aching legs to the edge of the bed and pulled himself up then he looked towards the clock on the wall; just before 11 o’clock. The brunet looked down at the still sleeping blond and decided to kneel on the bed facing his boyfriend. Pulling back the covers, Josh traced a finger over the body, from the start of his chest to the start of his hairline then he combed his fingers through his hair. It was greasy to say the least and he cast his mind back to when they had both previously washed. From last night’s action, both of them desperately needed a shower.

“Hey, Si.”

The blond’s eyes opened slowly, the light blue of his irises standing out from the rest of his face.

“Hey.”

“We need to shower. First we’ll put some clothes on then we’ll grab a couple towels and stuff.”

The blond nodded and rolled over, putting his legs on the carpet to stop him from falling on his face.

“God, Josh, it aches.”

He giggled playfully. “It’ll go away eventually. You have to admit, that was pretty fun.”

“I don’t know what your idea of fun is, but I like it.” Simon added humorously, shuffling his way around to his closet. Josh moved out of the way and went over to his wardrobe to put on some clothes.

After the boys had dressed themselves and retrieved a couple of towels from their wardrobes, they walked out of the dorm room and down the corridor to the large bathroom.  
“If there’s no one inside, we could shower together,” Josh whispered. “Not doing anything like last night, mind.”

“Sure. I still haven’t recovered.” Simon laughed and waited for the brunet to open the door and lead them both inside.

Looking around the white tiled room, the couple heard a shower or two running but other than that, it was empty. There were around 15 shower stalls to choose from and the ones nearest the door were locked, the steam rising from the warm water pattering down on the tiles and presumably some boys.

“The end one,” Josh suggested, tugging Simon over to the other side of the room. He opened the door and placed the towels over the top of it. Both boys removed their clothes and Josh shoved them in the basket outside their stall. He walked back in the small cubicle and turned the water on, adjusting it to the correct temperature. “Turn around, Si.”  
Simon turned around, his back facing the brunet who was squirting some shower gel onto the yellow sponge. He soaked it then rubbed Simon’s back from his neck down to the top of his ass, then along his skinny arms and down to his legs.

“Turn around,” The blond complied, turning his frame to meet the other man. Josh lifted Simon’s chin up with one hand while scrubbing the front of his body. He felt something stir in him while moving to Simon’s lower half, and tried to restrain himself from thinking about those things. Apparently Simon was thinking about that too because he had to bite his lip as his legs nearly buckled beneath him. “You okay?”

Simon swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yeah.” He put his hands against the cubicle wall and sucked in a huge breath while Josh giggled softly.

The brunet rubbed him on the insides of his thighs and Simon couldn’t help but to moan quietly. Josh shushed him and kissed up and down his torso, pecking his stomach with small kisses. He moved down his stomach to Simon’s thighs, kissing closer and closer to his groin.

“Josh, man,” Simon groaned, gripping some of the brunet’s hair in his hands, pulling him closer to the newly aroused crotch. “Come on.”

“Shh, there are people in here, Si,” Stated Josh whose mouth was centimetres away from his dick. “You’ll have to be quiet.”

Simon’s eyebrows lowered over his eyes as he visualised what this might look like; two dudes in a small shower cubicle, both naked and aroused with water running down every crevice of his being. This only turned him on more.

Josh’s hand traced down his torso and finally wrapped itself around the base of Simon’s cock. The brunet tensed and relaxed his hand repeatedly and set the sponge down on the floor. He wrapped his lips around the head and hollowed out his cheeks, beginning to slide up and down Simon’s wet cock. His remaining free hand began fondling his balls, rolling them in time with his bobbing head. Simon’s hips thrust involuntary and Josh gagged around his dick, only adding to the pressure of the blond’s release. Without warning, Simon came down the other’s throat, cock twitching within his mouth.

Josh released his dick from his mouth and stroked himself roughly before cumming on Simon’s torso.

“Jesus Christ.” Simon moaned, shaking his head back and forth and spraying water on the walls. He turned to the shower head and rinsed off his boyfriend’s release off him, the white substance dribbling down the drain.

Josh rolled his shoulders and started to wash himself. “Yeah.”

“You’re too good at this. Are you sure you’ve never done this type of stuff before?”

“I’ve watched things, but never done anything.” He admitted, quickly scrubbing his body with the sponge.

“You’re amazing, Josh.”

The brunet laughed then turned the shower off. The boys wrapped the towels around their middles and strode out while slowly drying themselves.


	15. xv

For the rest of the day, Simon and Josh helped each other learn their English speeches and finish some homework from the previous week. Tobi also came in to say that the students were called to an assembly to explain about the speeches. He said that there would be a ‘speech day’ where they would split up into assigned small groups of 5 or 6 and be miss a lesson during that day. That day happened to be Monday.

“I thought it was, like, next Thursday?” Questioned Josh who had just finished memorising the first paragraph.

“I don’t know, it was moved to tomorrow, though.”

“That sucks, have you learned yours yet?”

“Pretty much, I just need to learn the conclusion a bit more.” Tobi leaned against the door frame looking over the two boys sat on Josh’s now clean bed.

He left after that, leaving Simon and Josh to continue to memorise the speeches.  
-

Waking up the next morning, Simon’s stomach swirled and he felt sick from the fear. He never liked speaking in public and was always nervous when it came to asking for help or speaking up. He groaned then pulled his pillow from under his head out and placed it over his face. Josh’s eyes opened and he immediately glanced towards the distressed blond.

“You okay, Si?”

Simon threw the pillow on the floor and sat up. He grumbled and shook his head. The brunet pushed himself out of his bed and strolled over to Simon and sat behind him, rubbing his shoulders and attempting to comfort him.

“You’ll be okay. I’ll be there and I’ll help you as much as you can.

“Josh, my throat blocks up when I try to speak in public and I can’t breathe.”

“You’ll only speak to 4 other people and a teacher. You won’t be recorded, I promise,” Josh stopped massaging Simon and wrapped his arms around his lanky frame. “When you were asleep I went over to Dr Sherwood’s office and requested that we are put together and your speech won’t be recorded.”

“Thanks Joshie.” Simon turned around and kissed Josh’s cheek, making the brunet smile.

“No problem. We woke up before we usually do so we have time to practise.”

-

Josh and Simon walked together to their first class, maths. This was the lesson that everyone was told who they were with for the English speeches.

“I’m so nervous.”

“It’s okay. You’ll only speak for a maximum of 5 minutes,” The brunet stopped and he placed his hands on Simon’s shoulders. “Make yourself think that you’re only speaking to me. Visualise when we were practicing in our room, imagine that. No one’s gonna laugh at you and no one’s gonna judge you because we all have to do it. No one wants to do this, trust me. Just remember your speech and if you need to stop for a breath, do it. It won’t affect your grade.”

Simon bought a hand up to his face and he rubbed his cheeks and eyes. “Thanks Josh. You’re a good pep talker, you know.”

Josh grabbed hold of the other’s hand again. “No problem, bro. I’m here for you.”

The brunet pushed open the main doors and entered the maths classroom on their right. They seated themselves where they were assigned and waited for the teacher to fill them in on their speeches.

“Okay, class, as you should know, it is speech day today. I have your groups, teachers and rooms here. I’ll read out your names then give you your teacher and room,” Josh found Simon’s hand in his lap and he squeezed it gently, earning a small smile from him. “Josh, Simon, Alice, Ben and Heather. You’re group A. You’ll be with Miss Davis in the cookery room in second period.”

“Miss Davis is okay, she’s quite nice.” Josh whispered, still keeping hold of Simon’s hand.

After all the names in the maths class were read out, some of the students left to give their speeches and the ones that were left were assigned to do some simple equations.

“Heather is in our group.”

Josh tilted his head towards Simon, confused. “Yeah?”

“Isn’t Heather gay?”

His mind suddenly clicked. “Oh, yeah, she is. She and Samantha are together.”

“Brad came up to me a while ago, when you were handing in your ice pack. He said that we were like Heather and Samantha and that we would be a cute couple.”

Josh put down his pen and turned to face Simon. “Was this before we were a thing?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded and grinned inwardly at himself. “I never knew Brad was so cool with it.”

-

Second lesson came faster than either of the boys had expected, and when they were dismissed, both of them started feeling anxious.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God…” Simon repeatedly chanted, hopping from one foot to the other. Josh wrapped him in a comforting hug, interlocking his hands behind his boyfriend.

“Shh, you’ll be fine, Si, I’m here.”

Simon hugged back and the other three people in the group staring at them, smiling.

“Are you two a couple?” A female voice asked. Josh pulled out of the hug and joined hands with Simon.

“Yeah.”

The female voice, Heather, wore a grin on her small face, her thick-rimmed glasses being pushed further up her nose.

“You two are so cute.” She nearly screamed.

Both boys’ cheeks blushed bright red and Simon leant his head against Josh’s shoulder.

“You guys are gonna have to stop that, you’re gonna kill me.”

The brunet laughed at the girl’s statement and the teacher eventually opened the door.

“Hello! Welcome guys, step inside.”

The cookery room smelled pleasant as they stepped into the room, the smell of mouth-wateringly delicious food eloping the warm atmosphere. In the centre of the room were three rectangular tables packed in to make a larger rectangle. Six chairs were seated neatly around the perimeter.

“Take a seat and we’ll begin with a register. I’m sure everyone’s here though.” She half-joked as the students took their places. 

After the roll call and a brief introduction on what to do, Miss Davis picked Heather to give her speech first. She took a deep breath, picked up her cue cards and stood at the front of the classroom.

Half way through her speech, Simon turned to Josh and gripped his hand.

“Josh, I’m scared.”

“It’s okay,” Josh murmured, looking towards the blond and rubbing his back. “I’m here, remember what I said before.”

A round of applause signified the end of Heather’s speech on Euthanasia and the pair joined in.

“Okay, that was brilliant, Heather. I don’t think I need to ask you any questions to bump up your grade, I think you’ve done just fine. Well done.”

She sat down opposite Josh and breathed out a breath of relief.

“Okay, next up, can I have Simon?”


	16. xvi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter, life's being a bitch recently :/

“Good luck Simon.” Josh mumbled before he stood up. Simon nodded and smiled nervously, walking to the front of the room with caution.

“Okay,” He exhaled sharply as he stood facing the small audience. 

“What comes to mind when I say LGBT? Maybe you think negatively about to community, but I hope you view the LGBT community in a positive light. My speech today will be about the controversy around homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals and why they should be respected and treated as heterosexuals,” The blond’s voice quavered towards the end and he took in a shaky breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. “If you don’t know what LGBT stands for, it st-stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual-“ Simon was plunged into immediate Hell when his throat started to close up and his mouth became very dry. He shut his eyes and concentrated on the scenario Josh told him to imagine earlier.

“These four sections of the community are just a handful of the many sexualities out there. But what some people don’t realise is that there is nothing wrong at all with not being straight. Just because someone feels attraction towards a member of the s-same sex does not mean they are invalid, am I correct?

“A survey was taken in 2012 where 180,000 adults in the UK were asked about their sexual identity. 1.1% answered gay or lesbian, 0.4% answered bisexual, and around 93.5% said they were straight. 5% answered other or they did not say,” He paused for a breath and gulped, rubbing his hands together in front of him. “I would like to say at this point that at least two other people in the room are LGBT. We- they are more common than you would think…”

While Simon was finishing off his speech, Josh couldn’t help but feel so proud of how Simon was tackling the task. He felt ecstatic that Simon could potentially get a high grade, despite the blond narrowly avoiding a panic attack the night before. The brunet stroked his beard and listened patiently until the end of his speech.

“I hope that I have solidified or positively changed your view on LGBT community. Thank you.”

The audience applauded Simon’s speech and he walked back to his chair, grinning ear to ear. Before the blond sat down, Josh noticed Heather smiling widely.

“You did it! I’m so proud of you, Simon.” He placed his arm around Simon’s shoulders, drawing him closer to his body.

“That was terrifying.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll get a good mark.”

“I agree Josh,” Said Miss Davis, setting her pen down on the table. “Simon, you did brilliantly. I suspect you’ve passed with flying colours!”

The blond smiled and closed his eyes, feeling very proud of himself.

“Okay, Josh, if you could give your speech now.”


	17. xii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, issues surrounding school arose, but they've been fixed now. :)

The rest of the day went well for the boys, Josh fluently presented his speech without a hitch while Simon picked up more confidence because of the speeches.

Now, the time was 8 o’clock. Simon, Josh and Tobi sat around the tree where Freya and Josh broke up, chatting and glancing around the sky at the stars. Each one shone differently, every star emitting a beautiful light which amazed Josh and Tobi.

Simon scooted closer to Josh, who instinctively put his arm around Simon’s slim shoulders. The blond rested his head on his boyfriend and closed his eyes. Josh noticed this and the corners of his mouth raised.

“You two are so cute, man.” Tobi commented, shifting his position so he was closer to the couple.

Josh just looked across at Tobi then back to Simon, before resting his head on top of Simon’s, nestling his chin in his blond hair. Josh hummed happily and rubbed Simon’s shoulder.

“Aw, man.” Tobi gave a toothy grin and rested his head in his hands, elbows balanced on his clothed knees. “Do you remember before Simon came here?”

Josh opened his eyes and looked at Tobi, his head still perched atop Simon’s. “Hmm?”

“I never saw you this happy and we’ve been friends since the beginning.”

Josh smiled sadly and raised his head. “It’s because I never had Simon.”

“This is probably a stupid question, but is he the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”

“Yes.” The brunet moved his head so he could see Simon’s side profile. “I’m just so proud of him and I love him a lot.”

Tobi could have screamed at their cuteness if most of the students weren’t trying to sleep. “You have got to stop doing that, Josh.”

“Doing what?”

“That cutesy stuff with Simon. You’re the best couple I’ve ever seen.”

Josh’s cheeks tinted pink at Tobi’s statement.

Unfortunately, this happy moment was spoiled when along came a familiar face.

“Uh, Josh?” Tobi murmured, nudging his friend.

Josh looked up from Simon’s face and saw the outline of a person he knew so well.

Freya.

“What’s she doing here?” Josh whispered back to Tobi.

“I don’t know.”

“Hello Joshua.” She spoke, stopping in her tracks when she saw her ex’s arm around Simon. “You’re still a queer, then?”

“Fuck off, Freya.” Josh said through gritted teeth.

“You put me in isolation.” She continued, ignoring Josh’s request. “You’re such a fucking cheater.”

“I’m not dating you anymore Freya.”

“I’m not damn well breaking up with you.” Freya’s voice was filled with slowly rising anger. “My parents and your father are relying on our relationship. We are going to have two children and we’re going to get married as soon as we leave this hell hole whether you like it or not, and we’ll be away from that gayboy over there.”

Josh inhaled deeply and narrowed his eyes before slowly detaching himself from his boyfriend. “You’ve fucking crossed the line Freya. Tobi, keep an eye on him.”

“Josh, not this again.”

The brunet pushed himself from the grass and rolled his shoulders back, stepping closer to Freya.

“Joshie, you’ve come back to me! See! You’re not a queer!”

“Fuck off, Freya.”

Freya dropped her shoulders. “That’s no way to treat your fiancée, Josh.”

“Fiancée?” Tobi repeated, his head tilting and his eyes narrowing. “You proposed to her, Josh?”

“I’ve never fucking proposed to you and I never will.”

Pouting, Freya reached in the pocket of her jeans and retrieved a small velvet box. “Maybe this would change your mind? I thought this was quite romantic.”

Josh reached forward and slapped the box out of her hand, which caused Freya to widen her eyes until they twitched at the edges, and she lunged at Josh for the second time. Josh fought back, pushing her away from him and-

Slash.

The whole world stopped. Looking down, Josh saw that his school uniform was ripped, and through the medium-sized tear he saw a faint trickle of blood.

Since when did Freya get a knife?

Tobi lay Simon gently on the floor and bolted over to Josh who was on his knees by this point. Tobi looked at his wound and he felt sick to the stomach; the faint trickle of blood had turned into a slow stream of red liquid, staining his friend’s white shirt.

“Lie down, Josh.” Tobi pushed Josh on to his back, one hand between his shoulder blades and the other on his furthest shoulder. “Breathe slowly, slowly and deeply.” He turned to Freya afterwards. “Look at what you’ve fucking done.”

Freya dropped the knife and stepped back a pace.

“Look at what you’ve fucking done!” Repeated Tobi, but pausing in between every word and voice rising towards the end of the sentence.

“I- I- oh my God, Josh-“

“Stay away from him, you bitch!” Tobi yelled, blocking Freya’s path to Josh. “I would suggest you fuck off.”

Without another word, Freya vanished from view, sprinting around the back of the school and taking the long way round to the girl’s dorms.

As soon as Tobi had turned around to help Josh, he saw Simon stroking his dark hair.

“Simon?”

Simon didn’t respond to his name, instead he wept, shoulders heaving.

“Josh-“

“Si, I’m okay.” Josh managed to speak out, staring up into his calming blue eyes.

Tobi stood, immobilised as he watched. His mind was whirring; _‘Why isn’t Josh in pain?’_ , _‘When did Simon wake up and why didn’t I hear him?’_

“Simon- Simon, it’s okay. Josh will be okay. It’s not too fatal.” Tobi said, slowly pacing towards Simon.

“Josh!” Simon cried out whilst lowering his head down towards Josh’s.

Luckily, all the shouting managed to gather a crowd. A teacher, Dr Sage, the biology teacher, ran over to the boys.

“What on Earth happened here?” He questioned, kneeling down next to Josh, who was still conscious but in a state of shock.

“His ex came up and stabbed him.” Tobi spoke quietly from behind Simon.

“What?”

“She just- she had a knife. And she just stabbed him.” It was becoming more difficult for Tobi to speak as his throat felt like the Sahara Desert.

“Someone get me a large bowl of water and a clean towel from the kitchen.” Dr Sage announced to the crowd of about twenty, which was slowly increasing in size by the second.   
“Everyone else go to your dorms, we don’t need a crowd.”

-

When Josh awoke, he wasn’t in his own bed, or Simon’s for that matter. Instead, he was lying on a vaguely uncomfortable bed. The smell of disinfectant polluted his nose and that’s when his eyes shot open and he coughed quietly.

“Josh?”

Josh turned to the timid voice next to him; Simon was perched on the end of a plastic chair, eyes red and sore from crying, Josh guessed.

“Hey, Si.” He spoke softly. “Nice to see you.”

“Josh, I thought you were dead.”

The brunet’s mind ticked back to his last memories. “That was only a small gash, I’ve had much worse.”

Simon began crying with happiness as he moved over to the bed to awkwardly hug his boyfriend.

“Hey, it’s okay!” Josh comforted Simon, rubbing his back up and down. “I’m fine now!”

Josh felt Simon nod into his shoulder and he also could feel his shoulder getting damper due to the fact that Simon was still crying.


End file.
